Going to Greek Fest Knoxville has become a yearly tradition for us. We’ve been attending the festival since well before we had kiddos and we consider it our official kick-off to the fall season. We look forward to each September when we visit St. George Greek Orthodox Church, eat fantastic food, listen to festive Greek music and enjoy the atmosphere.

This guy is ready for his 3rd Greek Fest, just a month before turning 3 years old.

You could consider this Shelby’s 1st or 2nd festival – last year she was still in my tummy.

We arrived early because someone *cough*me*cough* misread the schedule. So we had some time to kill sitting on the front steps of the church.

Jasper was generous with the kisses to help us keep Baby Sister occupied.

Once inside, I couldn’t resist the massive griddle full of fragrant sizzling onions and peppers, so for my main dish I chose Chicken in a Pita, topped with those delicious onions and peppers, tomato, lettuce, and tzatziki sauce. The chicken was juicy and perfectly seasoned.

Matt ordered the gyro with slices of seasoned beef and lamb topped with tomatoes and onions and tzatsiki. This is a dish he’s ordered before and the meat is always delicious.

Jasper got a kids meal of chicken tenders and Greek fries!He was starving so he sat down and chowed down with no complaints.

We got him a Greek juice box to try!He’s a super cool dude.Pastichio, or Greek lasagna, is another annual favorite of ours. The hit of cinnamon in the seasonings is my favorite part.

Tiropita was a new menu item this year, and boy was it tasty. It is made of layers of golden baked phyllo filled with a mixture of butter, eggs, and several Greek cheeses. Yum, yum, YUM!

No Greek food for this one just yet. Maybe next year?

This is EkMek, a chilled layered dessert with a shredded phyllo (kataifi) base, thick creamy custard, and topped with whipped cream, chopped pistachios, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. And a cherry, of course. It was pretty amazing, especially when you dig way down to the bottom to get the perfect bite containing equal amounts of each layer. Oh yeah.

The last thing we did was stop by the pastry tables and pick up gifts for family as well as a few things to take home for ourselves. This is a finikia, a cookie made with orange juice and rolled in sugar, cinnamon, and crushed walnuts.

This was my favorite pastry this year – chocolate flogeres, or phyllo rolled up with a sweet mixture of crushed nuts and drizzled with chocolate. If you love baklava, then you would love flogeres.

This is a Greek Christmas cookie, or kourambiedes. They are crumbly, nutty butter cookies rolled in powdered sugar.

Lastly, I had to grab a bag of koulourakia, an extremely popular Greek cookie. They taste like crunchy little butter cookies and they’re typically twisted into the shape shown above. Sometimes the dough is lightly flavored with citrus juice and other times the cookies are rolled in either coarse sugar or sesame seeds before baking. I’ve made them on this blog before and they’re very simple to make at home. They’re great dipped in your morning coffee and perfect for the kiddos with their mild flavor.

Another GreekFest is in the books, and that means it’s officially fall! Bring on all the things – pumpkins, apple cinnamon, Halloween, sweaters, crackling fires, crunching leaves, and about a hundred other things that make this season so wonderful.

Birthdays seem to get less fun the older you get. After a certain point you stop being excited about getting a year older and start wrinkling your nose at seeing that number tick higher and higher. I turned 34 on August 30th and decided that I’d try something different this year and cash in on as many birthday freebies as I could. There’s a blue million companies out there waiting to dole out free treats on your birthday.

Knowing that I have limited time (and energy, ugh) to drag my kids around to many different places in a single day, I did some research and put together a game plan of places I would visit based on the convenience of the location, the ability to “pick up and go” (as opposed to having to dine-in at a restaurant), and whether or not I could pick up the freebie on a day other than my actual birthday. At the bottom of this post is a list of everything I scored with an approximate retail value, as well as a full list of other freebies that I didn’t get.

I started cashing in on freebies during the weeks leading up to my birthday, as many of the perks are available throughout your birthday month. Join Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Perks email program and receive a free pretzel of your choice! I picked up my pretzel while we ran some errands at the mall. We all shared it (which means the toddler schkoffed most of it).

Join the Krispy Kreme email program and receive a coupon for a free doughnut and small coffee or fountain drink during your birthday month.

I chose the Reese’s doughnut that everyone had been talking about. We all tasted it and it was holy delicious, but soooo heavy.

On another day, I picked up a free bagel sandwich (with any drink purchase) from Einstein Bros Bakery. You have to sign up for their Shmear Society emails to get the birthday coupon mailed to you (it’s valid for a period of about 2 weeks). They royally screwed up my order but whatever, it was free, right? (and still tasty)

As part of the My Panera program at Panera Bread, you’ll get a free pastry of choice loaded onto your account. I chose a bear claw… cuz it was big.

Next was one of my favorite freebies, a choice of bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes. You have to sign up for their emails to receive the birthday coupon. I chose red velvet!

If you’ve never had a cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes, I recommend remedying that post haste. They are yummy.

On the big day itself, August 30th, Matt surprised me in the morning by getting up before me and making me breakfast in bed – homemade eggs Benedict with hollandaise made from scratch, cantaloupe, cappuccino, and a mini orchid!

I had a sweet little helper to assist with opening my birthday card. The other one sat at the foot of the bed and cried because he didn’t want Baby Sister to touch ANYTHING.

Yeaah, we’re working on this whole sharing business. It’s going about as well as you’d expect (translation: I have to diffuse about 150 one-sided fights a day involving him melting down and Shelby just looking at him like “Bro, what’s your deal?”)

My mom made this shirt for me to wear, isn’t it cute?? She has an Etsy shop called ASE Monograms and Gifts and she can do all kinds of personalized goodies (embroidered and vinyl heat transfers) Please check out her shop!

The only bummer is I only get to wear it once a year!

Around lunchtime I headed out to pick up the rest of my loot. My first stop was at Jersey Mike’s to pick up a free regular sub and fountain drink (requires email sign up).

Using Sonic‘s mobile app (after signing up for a free account) I got a birthday reward for a free small classic shake. I chose peanut butter.

I feel like this is a freebie everyone knows about… the Sephora Beauty Insiders birthday gift! During your birthday month you can pick up your gift at any Sephora (no purchase required) or you can redeem it when making a purchase online. From this year’s choices, I went with the tarte sampler pack of Tarte Amazonian Clay blush and Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint.

As a member of Redbox Play Pass, you will receive a free rental on your birthday! I rented Girl on the Train (loved the book!) but I ended up not getting to watch the movie before returning it. Long story.

I craved cookie cake for my birthday last year and this year was no different, so it was pretty perfect that Great American Cookies’ birthday freebie is a free slice of cookie cake with drink purchase for being a member of the Cookie Club.

My last freebie was a real score, and if you live near a Red Robin I highly recommend you take advantage of it! For joining the Red Robin Royalty program, you can get your choice of a Gourmet Burger meal during the month of your birthday. And the best part is you can redeem this freebie via takeout (most restaurants require that you dine-in to take advantage of birthday perks) so you can take it home and save it for leftovers!

Carry-On Cocktail Kits (where to get them)Everything you need to create your favorite cocktails during a boring flight, packaged in a cute little kit. Just add alcohol. Several different cocktails available. Great gift for someone who’s about to go on a long trip.

Foodie Dice (put ’em in your shopping cart)These wooden dice will answer the “What’s for dinner?” question. One roll will provide you with a cooking technique, protein, side dish, and other ingredients to inspire your meals.

Never Soggy Cereal Bowl (go ahead and buy one)For those cold cereal fiends you know, a bowl that will keep it crunchy could be a game changer in their lives.

Cereal Killer Spoon (find it here)And you can’t give that cereal lover a clever bowl without also including this too-cute spoon.

DIY Beginner Cheese Making Kit (you know you want it)This kit contains everything you need (except the dairy products) to turn 20 gallons of milk or buttermilk into the following cheeses: Mozzarella, Chevre, Goat Cheese, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco, Marscapone and Ricotta. You can make around 20 pounds of cheese from one kit!

Japanese Snacks Subscription Box (subscribe here)For those who love interesting snacks that can’t be found locally, this subscription box is one of the best for international munchies.

Pretty Espresso Spoons (find them here in choice of 4 colors)I never knew that adorable miniature spoons were missing from my life until my husband gave them to me in my stocking one Christmas. We use them for so many different things – to stir our hot beverages, to taste what we’re cooking, and we also use them to eat ice cream or our desserts when we want to feel extra fancy. These spoons come in a set of 6 in your choice of 4 gorgeous colors.

Gourmet Sea Salt Sampler (find it here)Experimenting with different salts can be something a food lover might overlook (or at least I have… I mean, Tropical Hibiscus salt? YES!), so this is practically a sure winner.

Fancy Infused Maple Syrup Sampler (buy one for you and one for a friend)Friends don’t let friends use anything but real maple syrup, and this sampler of infused syrups (Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged, Cardamom, Cinnamon+Vanilla and Elderberry) will be well-received by any food lover. Use them on pancakes or waffles, stir them into hot breakfast cereals, drizzle over desserts, or make some mean sticky buns or cinnamon rolls. Comes packaged in a pretty little box perfect for gift-giving.

Try The World Subscription Box (sign up here)Yeah, another sub box, but I love these things and love receiving them as gifts. Try the World creates themed boxes based on specific cultures and is an awesome way to introduce someone (or yourself) to some new tastes. The boxes contain an assortment of treats, snacks, and/or cooking ingredients as well as a card full of info and suggested recipes.

Popcorn Air Popper (find it here)Trust me, I hate uni-tasker kitchen gadgets as much as the next person, but I’ll make an exception for this one. If you have a friend who loves to snack but also loves to count calories, then chances are they would love to have a hot air popper in their kitchen. This makes popcorn that is only 30 calories per 2-cup serving.

Watermelon Tap Kit (get it here)
This kit will let you turn a watermelon (or pumpkin, etc) into a fruity drink dispenser. For that friend who likes to throw perfectly-themed totally DIY parties (also the friend we kinda hate, because who has time for that??)

We recently tried out Home Chef, a meal kit delivery service. These services have been immensely popular lately and there are now several companies that offer this type of subscription. Pricing, meal selection, and delivery options vary depending on which company you choose, so hopefully this review will help you make an informed decision if you’re in the market to give one of these services a try. When you’re finished reading, please leave me a comment and let me know if you’ve tried Home Chef and tell me what you thought!

HOW MUCH IT COSTS

The main meals are $9.95 per serving, and each meal serves 2.

Add-ons such as a seasonal fruit basket and a smoothie kit are available at $4.95 per serving, and each order serves 2.

Shipping is free for orders $45 and over. For orders less than that, shipping is $10.

HOW THE FOOD IS ORDERED

You can fill out preferences via your Taste Profile in your account

Each week a different selection of meals are available. There are options for calorie conscious, vegetarian, or low carbohydrate. Occasionally, some vegan meals are available. Sometimes there are breakfasts and/or a “premium meal” (extra charge)

If you do not make your selections manually before the cut-off date (12pm CST on the Friday prior to your scheduled delivery day) selections will be made for you using preferences from your Taste Profile.

Though you can use your Taste Profile to indicate that you don’t want meals that include certain allergens, Home Chef is not a certified allergen-free facility because ingredients are packaged in the same facility and are packaged together in your box.

HOW THE FOOD IS DELIVERED

Currently deliver to 98% of the United States (use this tool to see if delivery is available in your area)

You can choose the day of week for your deliveries.

Delivery day options may vary depending on your location.

Deliveries can be skipped or edited, but changes must be received by 12pm(CST) on the Friday prior to the scheduled delivery day.

Boxes can be left on your doorstep without a signature (though I would still recommend being home so you can inspect the ingredients and store them properly ASAP)

Boxes are shipped lined with insulated material and ice packs.

WHAT WE ORDERED

We ordered Roasted Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Sauce, Patio BBQ Steak Sandwich with Grilled Corn, and we added on the addition of a seasonal fruit basket and a Strawberry Fields smoothie kit. There were 2 servings of each item in our box. The total for our order was $59.60 with free shipping.

My box arrived in the afternoon on Friday, the day I selected for delivery. The box was lined with some insulated material and there are 2 layers of frozen ice packs. When I opened it up I noticed some moisture and condensation. When I removed the piece of cardboard shown in this photo I found that the top layer of ice packs had completely melted and ingredients directly under the ice packs felt just on the cool side of room temperature. This was surprising to me since I was at home at the time of delivery and the box was brought inside immediately.

There was a 3-ring binder with pre-punched recipe cards for the meals that I had ordered. I thought this was a nice touch and an easy way to keep the recipes organized from each meal box in case you want to repeat the recipes in the future using your own ingredients.

Under the recipe cards the ingredients for each meal were grouped into separate bags, which I appreciated. This made it easy to quickly grab only the ingredients I needed out of the fridge. The packaging used is recyclable.

Under the bags was a second layer of ice packs that were still semi-solid. There were containers of “frozen sliced strawberries” that were mostly melted, but were still sealed and had not leaked. Under the ice packs were the raw proteins – beef and salmon. There were no ice packs under the proteins, just the insulated box lining, and the bottom of the box felt warm from the hot August weather… a little warmer than I’d like when coming into contact with raw meat.

At this point, I contacted customer service and let them know what I had encountered with my box, and asked if they thought the ingredients were still safe to use. The representative who responded to me was prompt and friendly. He said that if the ingredients were below 41 degrees they were safe to use. Obviously, I did not have a way of measuring the exact temperature of the meat and by the time I contacted customer service I had already moved all of the ingredients to my refrigerator, rendering the temperature a moot point anyway. I told the rep that I had no way of knowing for sure if the meat and fish had gone bad other than the sniff test and “Well, it looks okay…” The representative apologized for the trouble and credited my account with the same amount that the first order was worth.

We inspected the ingredients and decided that the meat still seemed fresh enough and that we would press on and prepare the meals, though we did decide to not feed the proteins to our toddler… just in case.

This was the box labeled as the seasonal fruit basket. I was disappointed to see that the box containing the fruit had taken quite a beating during shipment, and it was damp from the condensation coming from the melted ice packs surrounding it in the shipping box.

Inside I found 2 pears, 2 apples, and 1 orange. The fruit itself didn’t show signs of damage from shipping. We consumed it over the course of a couple of days and found it all to be good quality and quite tasty, though at ~$10 for this add-on, too expensive for the amount of fruit you get.

Our first meal was Roasted Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Sauce. I appreciated that the meal was incredibly simple with few ingredients and not too much prep work. The garlic arrived peeled and the fresh ginger was already chopped.

The salmon was shrink wrapped in individual packages.

The salmon looked and smelled completely fine despite the questionable packaging, so I felt more confident as I prepared the fish per the recipe’s instructions, searing it in a skillet and then finishing it off in a hot oven.

The finished meal was delicious! There was a lot of flavor in the ginger-scallion teriyaki glaze and it tasted amazing spooned over the roasted salmon. There was an additional step to create some scallion curls for garnish on top of the fish, but we didn’t care much about making things pretty – we just wanted dinner – so we stuck to slicing the scallions and mixing them in with the glaze.

The beans were prepared simply by cooking them for just a few minutes in a hot skillet with garlic and ginger, so they retained some crisp. It may be my new favorite way of working with fresh green beans.

I should mention that when gathering the ingredients for this meal I noticed that we had been sent 2 bags of items for this meal by mistake. There was the correct amount of protein, but we ended up with double of everything else (4 rolls, 4 ears of corn, etc). I guess if there’s going to be an error with the order, having too much of something is better than not having enough.

Prep work for this meal was also quick and simple, and included peeling and slicing the onion, chopping the parsley (and mixing with the butter), and shucking the corn. The instructions stated to slice the rolls, but our rolls arrived pre-sliced, which was nice.

Everything in this meal was cooked on a grill or a grill pan. As we are currently sans grill, I pulled out our trusty Lodge grill pan (seriously, everyone needs one of these in their kitchen).

One advantage we would have had if we had a working grill is that preparation would have been even faster if we could have grilled everything at the same time. Instead, I turned on the warmer on our oven and transferred the ingredients in there after they were grilled so that everything stayed warm. It worked great.

There’s nothing fancy about this meal, but it didn’t need to be fancy… it was incredibly filling and you can’t go wrong with BBQ grilled steak, onion, and cheese on a toasty bun spread with parsley butter. All of the ingredients were good quality, the corn was crisp and sweet and was a pleasing side dish.

At just over 800 calories per serving (each meal contains 2 servings) you could easily cut the sandwiches and corn in half and feed 4 people. It’s a nice value for the money.

And one more money shot, because it really was a pretty and colorful meal.

The last item to try was the Strawberry Fields Smoothie, another of the add-ons available. The smoothie selections vary depending on the week. Each bag of ingredients makes a large batch of smoothie that will serve 2 people. My smoothie contained Greek yogurt, a fresh pear, canned pineapple juice, and frozen sliced strawberries. All of that gets blended together with some ice.

There was also an “error” with the smoothie ingredients, as I only ordered one but was sent 2 bags of ingredients (so 4 total servings). But again, I was fine with that error since it ended up in us having extra ingredients instead of not enough.

It was a really delicious smoothie. I followed the instructions and used the recommended amount of ice and the consistency was perfectly smooth with just enough frothy thickness. Though the smoothie was yummy, at almost $10 for one batch (2 servings) I have the same opinion as I do about the seasonal fruit basket add-on… it’s a bit pricey.

WHAT WE LOVE

Home Chef has one of the best and most diverse selections of recipes that we’ve seen so far from a meal kit service. Each week there are so many delicious options that it is hard to choose which ones to have delivered. I found it helpful that the full nutritional info is available for every meal before orders are placed so I can make sure they fit within my calorie needs for the delivery days.

The meals themselves are a great value – $9.95 per serving is a fantastic price, as that’s lower than most restaurant meals.

The portions are generous and preparation is fast and fuss-free.

All of the food tasted amazing and the ingredients were good quality despite the melted ice packs and condensation in our box.

Customer service was friendly and their responses were prompt.

WHAT WE DON’T LOVE

The smoothie and fruit basket add-ons are pricey at $9.95 each (2 servings) In the future we will stick to only ordering the meals.

There were errors with our order resulting in extra ingredients. Though this time that works out in our favor, I hope that any future orders won’t go the other direction and have ingredients missing instead.

Packaging needs improvement. The boxes should be better insulated and an extra layer of ice packs should be added under the proteins at the bottom of the box, especially when shipping during the warm months. Customer service was receptive to my comments about the packaging.

We live right next door to the Great Smoky Mountains, home to 850 miles of some of the best hiking trails in the country. Before our kids were born we had a few years of being avid weekend hikers. Snow, heat, storms, and wicked difficult trails couldn’t keep us away from a hike. We stopped hiking when we started our family because we thought we would need to wait until our kids were old enough to be able to handle the distances and the terrain.

But the mountains kept calling to us and so we went in search of a solution to get us back on the trails sooner than we had originally planned.

Jasper, our almost 3 year-old son, can walk about a mile on flat, paved ground, but an uphill hike in the woods would be asking a bit much of his little legs. Because most carriers are designed for babies, we needed something especially designed to carry a toddler. We had an opportunity to try the Freeloader, a carrier designed specifically for toddlers, and we hoped it’d be the answer we needed to be able to hike with our kids.

Ergonomic waist and shoulder straps to evenly distribute weight to the body’s hips and core

Open back design helps maximize airflow to keep your back cool and dry

5-point child safety harness

lead-free and phthalate-free nylon materials

Meets or exceeds all CPSC standards

Can my child use a Freeloader?

Here are the specs so you can determine if your toddler is the right size for this carrier:

Product weight: 5.8 lbs.

Carrying capacity: 25-80 lbs.

Minimum Age: 2 ½ years

Standing height: 33″-50″ tall

Jasper, at almost 3 years old, 40″ tall, and 32lbs, was an ideal candidate for the Freeloader. During a camping trip, we headed for the Porter’s Creek Trailhead for our first attempt at a family hike. With a length of 4 miles (round trip) and an elevation change of only 700ft, it seemed like it would be an easy enough trail for our little experiment.

Matt is able to load Jasper into the Freeloader by himself with no help from another person. First he positioned the carrier seat between Jasper’s legs, while trying to make him understand that he still needs to stand upright during this step, ha.

Next he fastened the harnesses over the shoulder and around each leg and made sure they were nice and snug.

Then he crouched down to get the shoulder straps on.

And uppppp they go! There are foot stirrups hanging from both sides, but we did not use them for this hike.

Jasper is wary of new situations and new experiences, so we had practiced a few times in our driveway at home to get him used to being in the carrier. There were lots of tears during our test runs, but all eyes were dry on the day of our hike and he was a champ.

But don’t think that I was getting off easy – I had a passenger on my back as well! Shelby is still small enough to be worn in a more traditional baby carrier. She’s teething and chewing on everything that gets near her mouth, and that happened to be the edge of the carrier that day.

Jasper and his crazy curly hair may look apprehensive here, but he was actually just frustrated that we hadn’t started moving yet. He wanted to MOVE!

And off we go! The sturdy seat and safety harnesses made Jasper feel comfortable and secure. You can see the optional foot stirrups dangling at Matt’s sides.

The first part of the trail was relatively smooth and covered with gravel, making it easy to traverse. It was a good way to ease ourselves into hiking with precious cargo on our backs.

I’ll own up to the fact that I did a fair amount of whining during the first half of the trail. My body is out of hike-shape and I was feeling it, especially going uphill with 16lbs of baby pulling on my back. I go on neighborhood walks every day at home, but it’s just not the same. My inappropriate footwear didn’t help either. My hiking boots bit the dust many years ago and I haven’t prioritized replacing them since we haven’t been hiking.

It was a beautiful and scenic trail that followed a roaring creek for much of the trek.

Selfie-cam! Jasper was extremely comfortable in the Freeloader. We noticed him trying a few different positions with his hands. Sometimes he kept his hands on Matt’s shoulders. Other times, he held onto the top frame of the Freeloader itself. Other times he let his arms dangle freely at his side while he laid his cheek against the carrier.

The pack you see on Matt’s chest is not part of the Freeloader – that was just an extra bag he wanted to carry with us.

There was a beautiful bridge crossing a rocky creek. We stopped for a moment to double check the harness and all connections on the Freeloader and the carrier that Shelby was in to make sure everyone was nice and secure before continuing.

We got many comments from other hikers about the fact that we each had a human on our backs.

“Wow, you’re getting a workout today!”

“You’ve got the whole gang here!”

“Oh, you have TWO of them!” Said after passing both of us and looking back, since Shelby isn’t always visible from the front view.

The trail composition differed from gravel or dirt to trickier terrain like systems of exposed tree roots or large, loose rocks. We kept our eyes on our feet and slowed down when needed. We’ve both stumbled and fallen on trails before, but with our kids in tow we took extra caution to prevent such falls.

Two miles into the trail we saw a small rocky creek crossing the trail. Looking up our left we saw the 60-foot Fern Branch Falls towering above the trail. Though climbing the hill to get a little closer to the falls would have been easy if we were alone, we did not want to risk stumbling or falling with the kids on our backs, so we stuck to the trail and took photos from below.

You can see from the front view that the Freeloader has a chest strap and a thicker, padded waist strap for Matt to help distribute Jasper’s weight evenly. On both sides of the waist strap are small zippered compartments large enough for small items such as your phone, keys, a couple of protein bars, or a small bag of trail mix.

Miss Shelby was mostly asleep at this point, and she snoozed most of the hike back to the car!

This is looking across the small creek. If we had continued along the trail for an additional 1.7 miles, we would have reached Backcountry Campsite 31, but we both agreed that for our first family hike we’d stop at the falls and then start our return trip.

The falls in motion. Apparently I don’t know how to hold a camera steady when taking a video clip.

Overall, we think the Freeloader is an amazing product and is a game changer as far as allowing us to hike with our kids. While using the carrier, Matt said that he’d prefer it if the front portion of the waist strap was wider and had more padding. In order to get the correct weight distribution and prevent the strap from slipping it needs to be worn snugly, which caused a bit of discomfort at Matt’s waist. However, that was the only drawback that we could find. Our toddler was extremely comfortable throughout the hike. The open back design of the child’s harness as well as the lightweight panel between the child and the adult was very helpful in letting air flow freely, preventing both from getting covered in sweat. The various straps and connections are easy to reach for making quick adjustments. The ability to fold the seat up when the child is not in it is a nice feature for when the little one decides they want to walk on their own two feet for a bit.

If you want to try a Freeloader for yourself, you can save 10% by entering the code “freeloaderfun” when you purchase online at http://www.myfreeloader.com

We were provided with a Freeloader carrier for the purpose of this review. We do not accept compensation or free product in return for a fully positive review. Remember our motto: if it sucks, we’ll tell you!

I’ve become really into infusing flavors into heavy cream. It’s such an easy way to pack flavor into whipped cream, ganache, truffles, or any dessert that uses cream, really. I wanted to create a bright citrus pancake topping for a pile of pancakes on a Saturday morning, and this whipped lemon ricotta topping was perfection.

We absolutely love Krusteaz mixes in this house. We use their pancakes, Belgian waffles, cookies, bars, breads, and muffins! Sure, we love to bake from scratch, but sometimes we just want to pull a box out of the pantry and be done with it (who else out there can relate to that?) Krusteaz has just launched a new line of pancake mix with added protein. Each serving has 13g of protein and is free of partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.

The new mixes can be found at Kroger, Wegman’s, Roundy’s, Certco, and Jewel, while Walmart will be stocking the mixes in September.

This was our first time trying the protein-fortified mix and we were very pleased with the results. The pancakes baked up nice and fluffy and though the added protein didn’t seem to alter the flavor at all, they were more satisfying and filling than the traditional mixes. Paired with this fluffy lemon ricotta topping and this was a completely delicious breakfast.

You can use this topping on your favorite Krusteaz pancake mix, use your favorite recipe for scratch, or try it on other breakfast carbs like waffles, crepes, or French toast! Yum! Enjoy!

Place the peel and heavy cream in a heavy-bottom saucepan on medium heat until steam starts to rise and small bubbles form on surface. Do not allow to boil.

Remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for about 30 minutes. Strain out the peel, transfer cream to another container and place into the fridge until thoroughly chilled (~3 hours).

When the cream has chilled, in a bowl combine the ricotta, powdered sugar, zest, and juice. Stir until totally combined.

In a separate bowl, whip the chilled cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the ricotta mixture and serve with pancakes.

Notes

If you want to plan an easy breakfast, I recommend starting the night before. Infuse the cream and let it chill in the refrigerator, and combine the ricotta mixture and store it in the fridge as well. Then the next morning all you have to do is whip the cream and fold everything together and you're good to go!

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Krusteaz Prize Pack Giveaway

Krusteaz is offering this awesome prize pack for one of my readers! One randomly-selected winner will receive:

It’s summertime and the Big Brother fans are out in full force! I have a few family members that are incredibly obsessed with the show and though I admit I haven’t been a loyal follower throughout Big Brother’s impressive 19 season run, I’ve been known to have a few short-lived binges when I need something easy to watch on a boring night.

Since this is primarily a food blog, I thought I’d take one for the team and do a taste test of the infamous Big Brother Slop – the punishment diet given to the Have-Nots, the title given to contestants for losing challenges or other competitions. Along with eating Slop morning, noon, and night, the Have-Nots must also sleep in a special bedroom and take cold showers.

Watching the contestants react to the Slop diet makes it seem like pure and utter torture, but just how bad is it really?

When I saw the recipe, I admit I was a little disappointed, because “slop” is little more than steel cut oatmeal fortified with protein and some kind of vitamin supplement. Really? Oatmeal? That’s what everyone is fussing about?

I mean yeah, steel cut oats are pretty polarizing – they have quite a different texture than traditional rolled oats – but the flavor is more or less the same. And adding protein powder to oatmeal is nothing new or weird – fitness enthusiasts have been making “proats” for years.

I whipped up a small portion of Slop, held my breath, and took a taste. Yeah, sure, it was pretty bland and tasteless, much like any plain oatmeal. The steel cut oats are chewier than rolled oats and the addition of the supplement powders adds an odd metallic taste and a sludgy texture. Eaten as-is, I can see what everyone is complaining about, as it would start to feel soul-crushing to only have a bowl of this mush waiting for you for every meal day in and day out.

That’s the game changer right there. Contestants that are already oatmeal lovers are in business. Add a little milk, some honey, and some cinnamon and you’ve got yourself a totally normal meal.

… but why is mayonnaise on that list? I love mayonnaise and I can see being 5 days deep in the Slop Diet and getting desperate for something different, but nothing in this world could convince me to put mayo on a bowl of oatmeal.

Other than getting boring and monotonous to eat the same thing all day every day, Slop really isn’t all that bad. If they really wanted to punish the Have-Nots, they could take away the condiments. That would have me crying and clawing at the pants leg of a producer, begging for a burger.

(psst – if you look closely at the photo above you can see my awesome pink plaid pajama shorts. I basically wear them all summer long)

Here’s the recipe! This makes a huge batch, so feel free to cut it down to more realistic proportions.

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the oats and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring here and there until the liquid has been absorbed and the oats are tender.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for one minute. Stir in the whey and soy proteins and the vitamin and mineral powder. Serve with approved condiments only, or else!

On these last blisteringly hot days of summer, a cold, creamy, citrus-y pie is a blissful way to beat the heat.

The filling uses a whole can of Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk along with egg yolks and fresh lemon and orange juices, resulting in a smooth-as-velvet texture bursting with juicy fresh flavors. And come on, sweetened condensed milk? That stuff makes any dessert 20x better.

But let’s talk about that ginger whipped cream, also known as the best whipped cream on the planet. Over the years I’ve become obsessed with infusing cream with different flavors before whipping it and it’s a total game changer. The combo of that fresh ginger flavor, sweet cream, and the smooth orange-y pie filling is pure perfection.

The best part is that, other than waiting for the pie and cream to chill, this recipe is really fast and easy to prepare! Enjoy!

See notes about crust. Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Spread into 9-inch pie pan, using a non-stick spatula to spread it evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the pan. It will be more like a sticky cookie dough than a pie crust dough.

Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes until crust is firm and is just starting to turn a light golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Leave the oven on and while the crust is cooling, make the filling.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the center has just set. Gently jiggle the pan in the oven and it should have a little movement but should not be loose. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Ginger Whipped Cream

Place a metal mixing bowl and metal beaters into the freezer. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream and ginger until mixture begins to steam and bubbles appear on the service. Do not boil.

Remove from heat and place lid on pan. Allow to steep for about 30 minutes. Strain out the ginger pieces and chill until completely cold.

Using the cold beaters and bowl from the freezer, whip on medium high-speed until mixture becomes foamy. Begin to add the powdered sugar while mixing on high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve with slices of the chilled pie.

Notes

The shortbread crust has a delicious, buttery flavor and a soft texture, but it's a sticky dough that is fussy with releasing cleanly-cut slices once the pie is baked. If having clean slices is important to you, you are welcome to substitute any pie crust you like (homemade or premade pastry crusts or graham cracker crusts will work fine)

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It’s that time again, another Freedom Japanese Market Subscription boxhas arrived! I’ve been blogging about this box for a few months and I’m still obsessed. Each box contains a hand-picked selection of unique Japanese candies and snacks. There are some “safe” options like chocolates and salty snacks and then some “challenge” snacks with new flavors that most people may not be familiar with.

Try a Freedom Japanese Market Subscription box:click here to get started!

I love opening up the box and seeing it packed with all of the colorful packaging! My favorite part about this service is that you get so many different snacks in each box. My husband and I get seriously giddy each time a new box arrives and we get to rip it open and see what has shown up.

Each box contains an adorable origami on pretty paper, as well as a description about what they are and what they mean. This time I got a carp wind sock! The insert also includes the English names and descriptions for all of the snacks contained in the box, so you have an idea of what you’re getting yourself into before you try each one.

So far, each Japanese Freedom Market box I’ve received has contained Umaibo, translated to “delicious stick”. These sticks are made from puffed corn and they come in many different flavors and adorable colorful packaging. This month’s flavors were cheese and corn potage, which is a popular Japanese soup. As always, these were really good, but the winner this month was the corn potage flavor… YUM!!

These snacks are similar to Umaibo but in different shapes – Takyo-Yaki Nani-Wa. These were octopus-flavored and I also got a subtle taste of soy sauce. We tried the regular octopus flavored Umaibo in a previous box and really liked them, but these were somehow even better and ended up being our favorite savory snack in the whole box. My toddler was obsessed with them, partly because he liked the flavor and partly because “Pups Save The Octopus” is his current favorite episode of Paw Patrol.

More puffed corn snacks, bring ’em on! Karappa are corn rings flavored like teriyaki mayo chicken. We found the flavors in these to be extremely subtle, but they were tasty. And look at the cute bunny and bear on the packaging!

(Top) Next up were some crunchy rice crackers flavored like pickled plum, a flavor that seems to be common in Japanese snacks. I believe we’ve had this same type of rice cracker in a previous box but with a different flavor, and we liked these as well. (Bottom) Pierre’s Sugar Rusks are twice baked bread coated in sugar. The rusks are really crunchy and the sugar wasn’t overpowering – they’d be great with some nut butter, yum!

The packaging and shape of these Chip Stars instantly made me think they were some kind of Japanese Pringles, and the texture and crunch isn’t too far off from the popular American chip. The flavor, however, we could have done without. Described as butter and soy sauce flavored, we found the butter to be way too overpowering to eat these chips by themselves. Paired with salsa and other dips and they would have been fine. These were fun to try something new and different, but we gotta give ’em a thumbs down.

On to the sweets! Shittori Choco, despite the questionable-sounding name, are crunchy chocolate cookies with a creamy chocolate center. The texture of these chocolate bites reminded me of the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of aerated chocolate. They were delicious and were our favorite of the sweet offerings in this month’s box.

So far, each of our boxes have contained an assortment of Japanese candy. This month contained Watagashi, which is an absolutely delicious strawberry cotton candy in a cute single-sized container. There was also matcha flavored Hello Kitty chocolate (we love green tea ANYTHING!), Chibikko Mikan (citrus-flavored candies that reminded me of Nerds), and “frozen” mango gum.

Lastly was a Nazo Neru-Neru-Ne, or a type of DIY “candy-making” kit. Using the included container, you mix together a bit of water with the powders in the envelope and then decorate them with flavored sprinkles to make candy. We haven’t tried this particular kit yet – I’m keeping it around for when I need to distract my toddler with a different activity – but you can check out one of our previous reviews of this box to see us assembling a similar kit.

We are continuing to enjoy these boxes and it’s a fun surprise to see what kind of snacks are going to show up each month! I encourage you to give the box a try if you like trying new and interesting food, or if you just like fun and cute things from Japan! Prices start at $12.99 per month and shipping is free worldwide. You can save money in the long run by subscribing to 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month plans.

Do you want to try fun new snacks that are tasty, unique, and maybe a little weird?click here!

I was provided with this box to share my thoughts with all of you. We do not accept compensation or free product in return for a fully positive review of a product or service. Remember our motto: if we think it sucks, we’ll tell you!

If you’re looking for a new easy breakfast idea to add to your repertoire, look no further than these simple pita pizzas.

For my pizzas, I used Nellie’s Free Range Eggs, a brand I was introduced to through this blog. I ended up really loving their eggs! As a blogger It’s always fun to get some extra perks for creating content, but it’s especially exciting to discover a new product that ends up being something you want to use in your own kitchen on a regular basis. Nellie’s eggs come from the first certified humane farm in the country and their hens have free access to indoor and outdoor living spaces.

I also used Vermont Extra Sharp cheddar from Cabot Cheese, yet another brand that I was recently introduced to and that I subsequently fell in love with. There are so many different varieties of their cheese and we’ve pretty much tried them all. We’ve put them on burgers and sandwiches, used them in many breakfast dishes, created cheese boards, added them as a garnish to endless dinner recipes, or just served pieces of it straight up to our cheese-obsessed toddler. It’s good stuff.

You could alter the toppings for these breakfast pizzas however you like, or offer a variety of toppings so the different members of your family can create their own according to their own personal preference.

One pizza was filling and satisfying. This recipe is easily increased or decreased depending on the number of pizzas you need to make. Since a typical package includes 6 pitas, we made pizzas using 3 of them and put the rest in the freezer for another time.

We served our pizzas with extra salsa and some fresh sliced avocado. It was a perfect easy breakfast idea. Enjoy!